Drivers in Norfolk urged not to travel with Storm Christoph expected to bring more flooding
Police in Norfolk are urging people to only drive if "absolutely necessary" as Storm Christoph arrives in the region.
A yellow weather warning for heavy rain is in place for Wednesday and Thursday, and a number of flood alerts have been issued.
Officers are keen to avoid a repeat of the scenes witnessed before Christmas where some motorists attempted to drive through floodwater in places like Long Stratton.
To avoid the same thing happening again this time, a 10mph speed limit is in place on the A140 in the town, and firefighters have also installed a pump to keep the road clear.
With sustained rainfall once again expected to hit the region in the coming days, more localised flooding is expected, and police are asking people to think carefully about whether they really need to travel.
"For the safety of everyone; our communities and our emergency services, which are already stretched with the demands of the coronavirus pandemic, we’d ask people to avoid travelling over the next few days wherever possible," Superintendent Dave Buckley from Norfolk Police said.
"Any journey we make under current lockdown rules should be for an essential purpose, such as food shopping or caring for a vulnerable friend or relative. With these weather warnings in place we would ask people to give extra thought before leaving home and ask yourself ‘can my journey wait’?”
However, Melanie Craig, Chief Executive of NHS Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), added that it was important that people still stick to vaccination appointments: "If you have a COVID-19 vaccination appointment, please continue to attend your booked appointment, providing it is safe for you to do so. Please leave extra time to travel if you need to, but aim to arrive on time for your appointment. This is really important so that social distancing can be maintained at vaccination sites.”